Carole Chiang will be returning to teach another exciting class. Carole was born near Beijing, China, and
has been educated in both China and the U.S. She began teaching in 1976 and has taught throughout Europe
and Japan. Carole has owned her own restaurant and has a published cookbook, "Carole Chiang's Chinese
Cooking Book". She has an excellent reputation as a fine culinary teacher and talented chef.
Teresa Ciani is the owner/innkeeper of High Prairie Lodge, outside of Whitewood, SD.
Teresa is in the process of writing her first cookbook and has taught many classes here at SITK. Using well-loved recipes
Teresa pairs her varied culinary and life experiences to provide food that is organic, seasonal, and creative. Teresa and
her husband, Dave, are one of the few American couples licensed to guide and outfit in Saskatchewan, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
Chris Coleman recently retired from teaching at Central High School. A passionate cook, she is constantly adding
recipes to her collection. Chris specializes in gourmet dishes that are relatively quick, highly flavored and nutritious. She is a long-time member of a local
gourmet club and has a fantastic reputation for serving delicious and creative vegetarian entrees.
Tena L Cook's passion is gingerbread houses. She first started making them with her
family in 1974 after a youth group activity. Her dad re-engineered the pattern to look more like a cottage, while her mom
re-organized the recipe. That year they made a total of 13 houses. Since then she's built literally hundreds of
gingerbread houses as well as barns, sleighs and arks, mostly as gifts or as give-aways for local fundraisers in her
hometown of Chadron, Nebraska. Her record for gingerbread structures in one season is 31!
Pete Franklin has been in the restaurant business for almost 30 years. He is
currently owner and chef of Delmonico Grill, 609 Main Street, Rapid City. Since coming to the Black Hills in 1999 from
the west coast, Pete has been active in the business community. He was the owner of Pete's kitchen in Spearfish and is
a former owner of Mad Mary's Steakhouse in Spearfish.
Eric Gardner grew up with the best of both worlds ... his mother was a gourmet cook and his father a wine connoisseur.
Hence, his interest in food and wine today! Although his main job is "meteorologist" at KOTA-TV, Eric produces and hosts
Cooking with Eric every Friday morning,
In the Kitchen with Eric at Someone's In The Kitchen live each Thursday noon, and
Eric's Wine Minute every Tuesday and Thursday morning.
Kirsten Hollenbeck (formerly Geiger) is a staff member at Someone's In The Kitchen and
a wonderful gourmet cook. Kirsten is in charge of the cooking class schedule, the website, including internet sales and bridal registry, the SITK newsletter,
and our Facebook page. Many of our customers know Kirsten from her daily FB updates, filled with great cooking tips and wonderful recipes.
Daniel Hughes grew up in Hill City, SD before attending the Culinary School of the Rockies in Boulder,Colorado.
After graduating he worked at The Kitchen in Boulder. Upon returning to the Black Hills, he worked as Executive Chef at the Chute Roosters in Hill City
and later as Pastry Chef for the Deadwood Gulch Resort. He then started Rustic Cuisine, and In-home Catering and Personal Chef Service. Daniel currently
works as Sous-chef at Holiday Hills Estates.
Ashley Kiefer is an artist, SITK staff member, and avid vegan cook. She grew up
playing in her grandmother's kitchen, and has fond memories of the fresh, rich and often decadent treats she made there.
For Ashley, going vegan was a long transition prompted by health concerns. She's spent the last six years experimenting
with ways to "veganize" the food delights of her childhood.
Colleen Lecy is Principal at St. Elizabeth Seton and a part time staff member at Someone's In The Kitchen.
Prior to becoming a principal, she was also an elementary school teacher for 12 years. Colleen taught a series of cooking classes for
St. Elizabeth Seton during the summer of 2005 and has taught many kids' cooking classes at Someone's In The Kitchen.
Roberta Lecy was the owner/operator of Pewter Place on Quincy for 5 1/2 years when she closed it in the early
1980's, after which she worked for Alex Johnson Fine Dining for several years. For many years Roberta was the Food Service Director at Westhills Village
until her recent retirement. She has done catering for Someone's In The Kitchen, and we are pleased to welcome her as a new instructor.
Lorraine Martinez moved to Rapid City over 20 years ago from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
She was a lifetime resident of New Mexico, having been born and raised in Taos. After arriving in Rapid City, she started having
Christmas parties at her home featuring her specialty, Spanish cuisine. She had to give up the custom when the demand outgrew the size of her home.
Lorraine has catered many events organizations and for special friends.
Charlie Means, from Minneapolis, has been in the gourmet housewares business for
almost 30 years and is a representative for Kuhn Rikon, a manufacturer of high quality pressure cookers. For more than
10 years he has been "cooking under pressure" in his own test kitchen, as well as dozens of kitchens in gourmet kitchen
stores and cooking schools around the Midwest
Deb Michaelree of Uncorked Wine And Tapas Bar And Restaurant began cooking in the 6th grade. Her single mom would leave
her instructions and she would make dinner. She fell in love with cooking! She started her catering business --Catered
Two in 1989 with a partner. The catering business started small, catering about 3 – 4 times a month. Her partner
eventually went on to her own endeavors, and Deb now caters full time. In November of 2008 she opened Rapid City's first
Tapas bar – Uncorked Wine And Tapas Bar And Restaurant.
Deb says, "As far as learning to cook, my experience comes from practice- lots of it. We research all kinds of food
ideas and recipes, develop our own ideas and the rest is trial and error, but we get to eat the mistakes!"
Helen Nichols is a registered dietitian, a licensed nutritionist, a Certified Diabetes Educator and a Nationally Certified
Weight Loss Consultant. She serves as the consulting dietitian to several healthcare facilities in the Black Hills. Helen has
a passion for helping people with special diet needs and her interest in cooking and baking goes back to early childhood. "I
used to spend hours in the kitchen preparing desserts from scratch. Now my time in the kitchen is spent preparing healthy
foods my husband and I can enjoy all during the week."
Joyce Payton love of preparing food began over 30 years ago and she's been
perfecting her skills ever since. As owner and operator of Willow Springs Cabins Bed & Breakfast, Joyce has cooked
professionally for the last 26 years. One of the things her bedand breakfast guests love most about their visits are her
awesome culinary delights.
Sean Petrie is from Chicago and has been the upper Midwest Regional Sales Manager
for Riedel Crystal for the past 6 years. Riedel Crystal is known worldwide for designing the most finely-tuned drinking
instruments for every level of wine sophistication. In addition to his responsibilities as sales manager, Sean travels
eight states doing Riedel wine tastings and sharing his vast knowledge of wine and its enjoyment.
Beth Poppen received her culinary, baking and pastry degrees at the Art
Institutes International Minnesota in Minneapolis in 2005. While attending school she interned at Tryg's on Lake
Calhoun. After graduation Beth worked in Tuscany, Italy before moving to the Black Hills and working at Sage Creek
Grille as a Sous Chef. Beth is currently a wine and spirits representative for Johnson Brothers Western Wholesalers.
Jeff Slathar is the Head Chef and Baker at the Colonial House Restaurant in Rapid
City. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of Art in Denver, he creates all of his desserts and specialty breads from
scratch. He is a member of the American Culinary Federation and is a Certified Working Pastry Chef. He has taught
culinary classes through Community Education in Rapid City for many years.
Julie Smoragiewicz;learned to cook in her grandmothers' kitchens. Julie writes a food blog,
Dakota Thyme, Adventures from a Prairie Kitchen, which pays tribute to talented cooks of yesterday and today. It connects readers
and travelers to the myriad of local foods and products waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. Julie
is active in the community and has helped to organize food and kitchen related events.
Clark Stone is sales representative for Wüsthof-Trident of America, Inc.
Wüsthof is considered to be the cutlery of choice by professionals all over the world. Selling and servicing independent and national accounts, Clark
teaches knife skills classes all across the Midwest, and will be ready to answer any questions you may have about high-end
cutlery.
Kara Sweet is a Certified Senior Cellar Manager and Trained Sommelier, living in
western South Dakota. She is a member of the International Wine Guild and works as a Personal Wine Consultant. She has
hosted promotional tastings for liquor stores, provided Sommelier services at charity wine tasting events and for private
themed wine tastings. She also teaches wine appreciation classes for community education.
Vicky Tennefos has participated in classes taught by Julia Child, Alice Medrich, and others through the I.A.C.P.
(International Association of Culinary Professionals). She taught cooking classes for Dayton's in Bismarck, ND and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since moving to Spearfish,
she has catered special events and taught small cooking classes. Vicky is currently working on her cookbook, that she hopes to have finished soon.
If you wish to register for classes or need further information, please call us at
605-341-5044 or if outside of Rapid City, call toll free 1-888-817-5078.